Google Maps marketing guide

You don't need a professional photographer. In-the-moment shots work fine. If you're a tradesperson, show yourself and the team on the job. It proves you're a real, active business — and Google surfaces photos prominently in local listings. We've all arrived somewhere that "said it was open" and found a locked door.

Set a reminder. Log in, review the details, update anything that's changed. Google rewards active listings. There are also user feedback mechanisms that let people flag incorrect info — you don't want to be caught out by those.

A phone number is a given, people want to call. But younger customers would rather text than speak. Whether it's reserving a table, booking a slot, or a quick question before committing, WhatsApp is often the fastest way to make that happen. An email or contact form on your website is fine but nothing beats the speed of a WhatsApp message for them and for you.

Fill out the services tab on your Google Business Profile fully, including the smaller or less obvious ones you might not think to mention. People search Google Maps and Google itself for specific services, not just business types — someone searching "boiler repair" rather than "plumber" should still find you. The more complete your service list, the more searches you can appear in, and the more people see your listing in the first place.

The carosels show a range of options depending on the location and time of day. Cafes during the early hours, places for lunch during morning hours and restaurants for dinner during afternoon and evening hours, hotels to stay in tourist areas and sights to see. This is prime real estate in the app that you can win with a high quality Google Maps listing. It's a discoverability mode which your potential customers are browsing

To get listed here, you need a strong listing. This means good quality photos, good reviews and being regularly updating your profile.

When someone finds your business on Google Maps, they want to know two things before they click: location and price. Show them both, and you convert faster. If you hide the price of your products or services and they click to your website there is a chance that you could end up losing them in the journey for a variety of reasons.

Google Maps now displays pricing directly in the booking options section.

Price transparency kills friction. A potential customer sees your service, sees the cost, and makes a decision in seconds. No website click needed. No "let me check their site first" moment. They're ready to book or call. Bike rental, plumbing, salons, personal training, any local business can benefit from this. The customer is in buying mode. Showing your price keeps them there.

You don't need convincing that good reviews matter, but detail is increasingly important. AI can now extract sentiment, pull out relevant snippets when someone asks a question about your business, and, almost certainly, the algorithm rewards reviews that show genuine effort. Encourage customers to be specific.

Try to get as comprehensive reviews as possible. That means, not just a rating, but a description too and a lengthy one where the customer describes the experience in full. Also ask them to include photos as this shows true authenticity and helps proves that it is not just a fake review as they have photo evidence to support it.

It also helps if the customer leaving the review is a regular user of Google Maps and has left other reviews. If they have never left a review in their life, this could signal a fake review.

Google has a guides system that ranges from guide expert level 1 through to guide level 10. The more experienced the reviewer, the better.

I don't have any evidence for the above as these will be Google's own internal algorithms that the public doesn't have access to, but the logic and common sense thinking certainly pushes towards it. As a user when you leave a review, you the more comprehensive your review, the more digital "points" you get added to your profile making you more of a prolific reviewer.

Think of how apps ask "enjoying this?" — if yes, they take you to the App Store. If no, they take you to a feedback form. Same logic applies here. Don't ask unhappy customers. Do ask your regulars, your loyal clients, the ones who've been coming for years. Reviews — both volume and sentiment — almost certainly correlate directly with how well you rank on Google Maps.

I've seen shops at checkout display an actual physical widget that people can scan the QR code with and it takes them to the correct place to leave a review. This is a picture I took in France. Though it's a different language, you get the idea of how it can work.

Replying to reviews signals to Google that you're active and engaged. It also shows potential customers you care. Simple as that.

Keep it professional, keep it brief. Acknowledge the experience, apologise where appropriate, and offer to take it offline — a phone number or email address goes a long way. Never argue back. Even if the reviewer is completely wrong, a defensive or aggressive reply reflects worse on you than the original review. Anyone reading it will judge how you respond more than what was said about you.

Send your Google review link directly via email, text, or WhatsApp shortly after a positive job or visit, while the experience is still fresh. The less effort it takes someone to leave a review, the more likely they actually do it.

To get your link: go to your Google Business Profile, select "Read Reviews" then "Get more reviews", and copy the link shown. Send the link straight to your customer through whichever channel suits the moment — a text after a callout, a WhatsApp message after a sitting, an email after a delivery.

Not all reviews carry the same weight. A one-line "great service" does far less for you than a review with detail, multiple photos of the experience, and some context behind it e.g. what they ordered, what stood out, why they'd come back. AI-driven search can read and interpret that kind of review properly, pulling out specifics that match what someone else is searching for.

Reviews with photos, length, and an authoritative-sounding reviewer (someone with a genuine, active Google profile with a history of leaving reviews rather than a blank one) tend to carry more weight in how prominently your business surfaces. A rising tide lifts all boats — the better your reviews collectively are, the more your whole listing benefits, not just the review itself.

You can't write these for people, but you can nudge them. When you ask a happy customer for a review, ask them to mention what they had or what they came in for. A small prompt like that is often the difference between a throwaway line and a review that actually works for you.

First of all, this is just a given. Users will love to see what is on offer and what they can eat, however AI can identify dishes from photos with impressive accuracy. A photo of "Moules Frites" on your profile can get you in front of someone searching for exactly that, nearby.

Remember that Google Maps is also dominated by user generated content and users also tend to upload their own photos, sometimes unglamourous photos. Think of a half-eaten cheese burger that someone has snapped, so you want to upload images of meals freshly prepared just before being eaten.

Photos of your actual dishes let people see exactly what they're getting before they order — and AI can now read food photos with real accuracy, so a clear shot of your steak or seafood platter can help you show up when someone searches for that specific dish nearby. Make sure they're good quality, well-lit, no blurry phone snaps in dim lighting.

Do the same with your menu itself. Upload clear, readable photos of it, and if you're in a tourist area, add versions in other languages too — useful for visitors and another way to widen your reach.

Beyond photos, fill in the actual menu section on your profile properly, organised by category, with real prices and descriptions. This is the data Google and AI tools read most reliably, so a complete, well-structured menu does more for your visibility than photos alone.

If you take delivery or takeaway orders online, make sure that's set up properly on your Google Business Profile. Google lets you link an ordering provider directly to your listing, so customers see an "Order online" button right there before they've even opened your website. It also places a memory in the customer's mind that if they want to order online in the future, then it is possible.

It removes a step between someone searching for food nearby and actually placing an order. The shorter that journey, the more orders you convert. If you're using a delivery platform or have your own ordering system, check your profile settings and get this connected. It's a quick win that's easy to overlook.

A backlink is another website linking to yours. A citation is your business name, address, and phone number appearing online, with or without a link. Both act as votes of confidence — when relevant local sites mention you, Google reads it as evidence you're a genuine, established business, which strengthens your standing in local search and the Maps pack.

You don't need a big budget or a spammy outreach campaign to build these. Join your local chamber of commerce or trade association, most include a member directory with a link. Sponsor a school fete, sports team, or local event, these often come with a natural mention. Get listed on directories relevant to your trade. Reach out to local press or community blogs about what you're doing. Ask suppliers or partners to include you in their client list.

The common thread is genuine local involvement. Avoid mass directory submissions or paid link schemes, Google spots low-quality links easily and they tend to do more harm than good.

Apple Maps and Bing Maps are the obvious ones — don't ignore them just because Google dominates. Beyond that, Yelp still carries real weight, particularly for restaurants, bars, and consumer-facing businesses. Facebook has its own business listings and map search that gets used more than people think. If you're a tradesperson, get on Checkatrade or Rated People. Hotel or accommodation? TripAdvisor is non-negotiable. The principle is the same across all of them — consistent name, address, phone number, and ideally photos and reviews. The more places you appear with accurate information, the more signals search engines pick up that you're a legitimate, active business.

Don't just set your listing up and leave it. Use the Posts feature for time-relevant updates such as a special offer running this week, a closure for maintenance, extended hours over a bank holiday, anything customers would actually want to know. It keeps your profile looking active, which Google's algorithms tend to favour over a listing that hasn't been touched in months.